Being able to figure the distance from point A to point B is a task many people take for granted (or in some cases, can’t do very accurately). Everyday, people estimate how much their grocery bill is going to be at the supermarket or how long it will take to complete a list of errands. Getting your students to work on such skills now, means they will get better and better at it as time goes on. Have each student turn in his or her estimate, then at the end of the day assign a few students to determine the exact answer to the problem. Award those with the most accurate answer with a treat, or give titles for “Top Estimator of the Week” by putting their name on the chalkboard. The list of exercises below will get you started.
1. length of the room in meters
2. width of room
3. height of room
4. distance from door to outside door
5. amount of candy in a jar
6. weight of chalkboard eraser in grams
7. high temperature for the day
8. length of teacher’s desk
9. height of Mrs. Willis (name a teacher in your building)
10. amount of wooden cubes in the coffee can
11. amount of dominoes in plastic box
12. amount of multiplication flash cards in a packet
13. weight of empty pop can/grams
14. weight of 10 plain m&ms
15. weight of 10 peanut m&ms
16. amount of paper clips in box
17. number of pages in a certain book
18. circumference of a soccer ball
19. distance from floor to door knob
20. length of window
21. width of window
22. length of chalkboard
23. amount of beans in a jar
24. length of pond
25. width of pond
26. height of chalkboard
27. number of sheets in a package of construction paper
28. number of cement blocks in the room
29. number of pieces of chalk in basket
30. length of our jump rope
31. weight of 2 push pencils
32. weight of bag of marbles
33. weight of 5 Tootsie® rolls
34. number of students standing shoulder to shoulder to reach across our classroom
35. the total number of letters in everyone’s first and last name for our class
36. number of students in our class with winter birthdays
37. number of students in our class born in Wichita (town or city where you teach)